Trump ally Javier Milei faces impeachment pressure amid crypto scandal in Argentina

Calls are growing for Javier Milei, the controversial Argentine president embroiled in a multimillion-dollar crypto scandal, to face impeachment in the South American country.

“We believe that [Milei] is a fundamental participant in the development, execution and planning of the mega-scam related to the launch of the $Libra token,” lawyers wrote in a fraud complaint filed in an Argentine criminal court on Sunday.

On Friday, Milei posted about a new cryptocurrency known as $LIBRA, which he touted as a vehicle to reinvigorate Argentina’s sputtering economy and revitalize small businesses. However, the cryptocurrency’s value plummeted shortly after his endorsement, sparking outcry in the South American country and prompting Milei to quickly distance himself from the project, which he admitted to knowing little about.

Political opponents have also seized the moment to launch an impeachment move: “Milei’s participation in the crime of crypto fraud is extremely serious,” wrote the Lower House of the Peronist Unión por la Patria. “It’s a scandal without precedent. Our bloc of national deputies has decided to move forward with presenting an impeachment request.”

Opposition politician Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, the former president of Argentina, branded Milei a "crypto scammer" on social media and accused him of turning “Argentina into a casino.”

In recent years, economic turbulence and the devaluation of the peso have catalyzed Argentines to explore alternative currencies like crypto. There are at least 5 million citizens in Argentina using crypto every day, with almost 80% of the country now receptive to taking paychecks in crypto instead of the Argentine peso, according to Coinbase.

Outside of Argentina, the crypto community is also reacting to the news. “The entire $LIBRA memecoin fiasco over the weekend should serve as a reminder that all of us in the DeFi community have a responsibility to make this space safer for users,” said Chris Chung, founder of Solana swap platform Titan. “Overall, this entire story is a real setback for the crypto space. If we want to attract new retail users, this is not the way to do it.”